Inside Her Story: Black And Transgender

The world we live in is full of diversity and though we should accept and love one another. But unfortunately that isn’t the case. The world is dangerous for transgender people and especially Black transgender people.

Patterson says Penelope came to her at three years old very upset and said, “mama everyone thinks I’m a girl and I’m not.” She responded to her by saying it’s okay to feel that way and Penelope said, “mama no I don’t feel like a boy I am a boy.”

Patterson has other children who are cisgender and it breaks her heart as a mother to have to explain to 11-year-old Penelope that, “America doesn’t see him the way they see his siblings.”

She encourages parents to surround their kids with different kinds of people so that when they meet people who are different from them it’s no big deal.

You can learn more about Penelope’s story and his families journey in Patterson’s book ‘The Bold World.’